


I'm so Lucky That It's You

by crimsontheory



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, Famous Louis, Fluff, I'm so sorry I suck at tagging, Like super fluffy cheesy happy ending, M/M, Non-Famous Harry, Roses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 14:04:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6426814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsontheory/pseuds/crimsontheory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is a world famous pop star, Harry is his boyfriend of two years, and his team is pressuring him to come out before he's ready.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm so Lucky That It's You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bus1tats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bus1tats/gifts).



> Thank you for all of your wonderful prompts. I may have tweaked the original prompt just a wee bit because it was easier for me to write it this way and I really, really hope you still like it. 
> 
> And to my lovely, lovely beta, you know who you are, thank you for helping me with this. I was really struggling with this at the beginning, and if it weren't for you I probably would have just given up. And thank you for still not hating me after everything I've put you through.
> 
> Title is taken from Jenny's Song by We The Kings.

Louis’ eyes move beneath his closed eyelids. He breathes in deep through his nose and exhales it through his open mouth. He wiggles his toes and stretches his legs out before finally blinking his eyes open.

The warm body pressed against his chest is still fast asleep. Louis smiles as he tightens his left arm around Harry and pulls him closer to his body. Harry hums softly in his sleep and shuffles in Louis’ hold.

Harry's hair is held up in a tight bun atop his head, a few strands too short to reach the bun are curled at the base of his neck. Louis wraps an extra springy piece around his pointer finger and lightly kisses the soft skin behind Harry’s ear.

These lazy mornings are his favorite. Being able to wake up without an alarm and having no place to be except for in the arms of his boyfriend. Today is the first day in a long list of days that Louis had off. There were no interviews, no studio time, no special events in which he needed to make an appearance. No plans. And he was opting to spend the whole day in bed with Harry.

He and Harry have been dating for a little over two years now. They had met through mutual friends at the launch party for one of Louis’ albums. Liam, Louis’ best friend since they were in nappies, had brought in a local band to play at the party because he had become pretty close with the lead guitarist named Niall. And Niall just so happened to be Harry’s best friend who had come along to support Niall’s band.

Louis was mesmerized by Harry’s charm and confidence. His dimples and his beautiful green eyes didn't hurt. Once Harry drunkenly admitted to having a secret crush on Louis for the last couple of years, Louis knew he couldn't pass up the opportunity so he asked Harry out on a date right then and there. Louis has been head over heels in love ever since. And he finally convinced Harry to move in with him just four months ago.

Louis is just on the brink of falling back into a blissful sleep when his phone violently vibrates against his night stand. The shrill sound of his ringtone slicing through the peaceful silence of his bedroom. Harry jerks awake in his arms and groans, shoving his head further into his pillow.

“Shit. Sorry, babe. Sorry.” Louis leans over and silences his phone without even looking at the screen. His eyes glance at his alarm clock before he rolls back over to Harry.

“Do you have to work today?” He asks as he snakes his arms back around Harry’s body, his hand rubbing the soft swell of his belly. “It's already half past seven.”

“‘m closing,” Harry mumbles sleepily into the pillow.

“So you don't have anywhere to be until then?”

“Not unless something crazy comes up,” Harry replies, face still smushed into the pillow. “I actually get to sleep in for once and you're ruining it.”

Harry’s voice is thick with sleep and he's slurring some of his words, so Louis knows he's just about to fall back asleep. He scoots back just a little, rolls Harry over so he's laying on his back, he swings a leg over Harry’s hip, and straddles him.

“Lou!” Harry squawks, pushing at Louis’ chest. “What are you doing?”

“I’m off today,” he says smirking, dragging his fingertip down the center of Harry’s chest. “I have nowhere to be. I’m free as a bird.”

Harry’s eyes widen at that and he looks significantly less sleepy all of a sudden. “Really?”

Louis nods and then leans down to attach their lips together. Harry instantly melts into it, his arms wrapping around Louis’ waist and pulling them flush. Their mouths move effortlessly and Harry whimpers softly when their tongues slide together.

Louis has just moved down to mouth along Harry’s jaw when his phone starts ringing again. Louis ignores it and keeps kissing Harry. Well, _trying_  to because Harry is pushing him away. “You should answer that, Lou. It’s probably important.”

“It’s fine,” he says against Harry’s neck. “They can leave a message if it’s that important.”

Harry sighs and gives up, letting his hands fall back onto the bed. Louis smiles against Harry’s warm skin as he makes his way down his body. Harry’s letting out the pretty little noises as Louis is kissing along the waistband of his shorts. He’s just slipping his fingers underneath it when his phone rings yet again. He groans and rests his head against Harry’s stomach.

“I think you really need to answer it, Louis.” He can feel the rumble of Harry’s voice against his cheek. “Whoever it is is probably just going to keep calling if you don’t.”

“It’s probably just Liam or something,” Louis grumbles.

“Liam calling you at seven thirty in the morning?” Harry’s fingers lightly card through Louis’ hair. “I highly doubt that, Lou. Please pick it up.”

Louis reluctantly sits up and reaches for his phone and glances at the screen. Of course Harry was right. His manager wouldn't be calling him this early in morning if it wasn’t important. “I can’t believe I’m getting cockblocked by my phone.” He hears Harry chuckle as he swipes to answer. “Hello?”

“Louis!” His manager’s voice chirps through the phone. “Good morning! I hope I’m not waking you.”

“Nope, I was already awake,” Louis responds. “Was kind of in the middle of something though.”

“So sorry to interrupt. This should only take a moment.” Something in his manager’s voice tells Louis that he really _isn’t_  all that sorry for interrupting.

“What’s up?” Louis prompts.

“We need you to come into the office today for a meeting,” his manager tells him.

Louis frowns and rolls off Harry landing on his back next to him. He can't remember the last time he was called in for a meeting. Usually his manager just tells him everything he needs to know over the phone. “What about?”

“We can discuss that at the meeting,” his manager says. “Be in my office at two p.m. sharp. See you then, Louis.”

He opens his mouth to reply but before he can the line goes dead. He sighs and tosses his phone back onto the nightstand.

“Who was that?” Harry asks, nuzzling his face into Louis’ neck.

“My manager,” Louis answers. “I need to go into the office today at two for a meeting.”

Louis can feel Harry’s brow furrow against his neck. “Why?”

“He didn't say.” The end of Louis’ sentence turns into a moan when Harry starts sucking on his neck. “Oh, look who's awake now. I thought you wanted to sleep in.”

“Lou,” Harry whines, detaching his mouth from Louis’ neck and sitting up to look him in the eyes. “You woke me up and attacked me with your mouth. Of course I'm awake and now up for it. Like, _literally_  up for it.”

Louis laughs and he pulls Harry down to seal their lips together.

\--

After showering, having a quick lunch, and kissing Harry goodbye, Louis is now pulling into the parking garage at his manager’s office building. He drives by his manager’s white BMW as he heads towards the back and punches in the code for the locked bottom level of the garage.

There's only a few cars parked on this level as usual, since it's locked and reserved for the celebrities who need to visit the building. Louis cringes as he pulls into the first open spot, he hates calling himself that.

He steps into the lift and presses the button for the tenth floor. He pulls his phone out of his back pocket to check the time, 1:53, he's going to be a little early.

Louis waves to the young lady sitting behind the reception desk as he walks off the lift. He doesn't recognize her, so she must be new. Then again he hasn't been into the office in a few months, so she could have been there for quite some time. She gawks at him as he walks by. Definitely new then.

He turns down the hallway and heads towards the fourth door on the right, which is already standing open and he can hear voices coming from inside the room. As soon as he steps into the room the voices quiet down. All the chairs around the conference table are occupied save for one at the end which Louis assumes is for himself.

His manager sits at the head of the table with his publicist to the left of him. Louis recognizes the rest of the people around the table, they're all a part of his team, but he's only met them a handful of times and hasn't bothered to learn any of their names.

“Louis!” His manager greets warmly. “You're just in time, please have a seat.” He gestures towards the empty chair Louis noticed upon entering the room. “Would you like something to drink? Water or tea?”

“No. I'm good thanks,” Louis says as he slips into the empty seat.

“Alright so,” his manager begins, all eyes on the room looking towards him. “I'm sorry to have sprung this meeting on you at the last minute, especially on your day off, so we'll try to keep it as short as possible. There has been something we've all been discussing the last couple of months and we thought now would be a good time to fill you in on it.”

Louis can already tell that whatever this is about he isn't going to like it. His team has always been nothing but wonderful to him since the beginning. Always been there for him and never pressuring him into something he wasn't comfortable with. Of course there have been a few times when they've disagreed on something, but they've always been able to work it out easily and smoothly. Louis is forever grateful for his team, but something about this is making him feel a little uneasy.

“I'm just going to cut right to the chase here Louis, there's no reason to beat around the bush.” He pauses and Louis’ sure he's doing it just to cause dramatic effect. “We all have agreed that it would be a good idea if you were to come out. Actually, you _are_  going to come out.”

Louis’ eyes widen, he's shocked. Literally stunned into silence. This is definitely not how he saw this meeting going. His gut feeling was right though, he doesn't like this one bit.

His publicist finally speaks up then. “We don't think it's going to come as a shock to most of your fans.” She smiles warmly at him. He's always liked her. Their personalities are very similar and they've got on swimmingly since they first met. “We’ve done some digging through different social medias, and most of them already suspect that you're not exactly straight. You've never denied that you are, but you haven't exactly confirmed it either. And you haven't been in a relationship since the start of your career. Well, not a relationship they know of anyway.”

“You're right in the prime of your career right now, Louis,” his manager mentions. “There's always some sort of buzz about you and you're basically a household name. You’ve got a new album coming out in just a few months and this will cause major promo for that. There isn't a way this could end badly.”  

It's not that Louis doesn't want to come out, he does. He's very proud of being gay, he's always accepted it and he's very proud of who he is and he wants to be able to show everyone his true self. But the only reason he hasn't come out sooner is because of Harry.

Louis has been very careful to keep Harry out of the spotlight. They're always extra cautious when Harry attends events with him, keeping him tucked away and just far enough apart to not cause any suspicion, making it seem as if he’s just another part of Louis’ team. And he is always backstage at every local show Louis has, and even a few non local ones he's able to attend.

Part of him is scared for Harry’s sake. He knows as soon as everyone finds out Harry’s name, they’re going to dig through every aspect of his personal life and splash it across every article. Louis doesn't want that. He doesn't wanted Harry thrusted into the spotlight like this.

“It's completely up to you if you want to come out with Harry or not,” his manager says as if he's reading his mind. “Though we do suggest that it'd be better if you did. Maybe not right away but soon after. It would be good for everyone to see that you're in a healthy and committed relationship.”

“What if I don't want to do this?” It's the first time Louis has spoken since he sat down and it comes out shakier than he expected.  

His manager sighs and intertwines his fingers on top of the table. “Louis, like I said before, there's nothing that could go wrong. Right now is the absolute perfect opportunity for you to come out. Plus, we all know how much you've hated hiding this part of yourself.”

“We are giving you complete control over this,” his publicist jumps in. “We're going to let you decide how you want to come out. Whether it's on social media, an interview, what have you. It's all up to you.”

Louis nods along. He does like that. He's not a hundred percent comfortable with all this. And he doesn’t like the fact that this is the first time his team is pushing him to do something he isn’t entirely ready for, but being able to decide how he wants to do it is easing the pain a little.

“You'll have a week to make up your mind,” his manager tells him. “Take this time to discuss things with Harry and make a final decision on how you want to go through with this. If you don't get back to me before ten in the evening next Tuesday, we will take matters into our own hands and come out for you. And with that, you're dismissed.” He stands up from his chair and sticks his hand out across the table. “Thank you so much for coming in, Louis. And I'm very much looking forward to hearing from you in a week.”

Louis takes his manager’s outstretched hand and shakes it. He gives a quick hug to his publicist before leaving. He notices the lady behind the reception desk snap a picture of him as he's walking by. He knows she most likely will post that on Twitter, but he can't be bothered to care about that right now.

He’s not even sure how he made it home in one piece, the entire drive was in a complete haze. His mind was too busy focusing on what happened in the meeting rather than on driving. He takes the lift up to his penthouse, lucky that it’s empty when he steps inside. He slumps against the mirrored wall and rubs a hand over his face. How the hell is he supposed to talk to Harry about this? He’s so confused about this whole thing himself and he’s pretty sure Harry isn’t going to want to be shoved into this. And a week to make up his mind is definitely not enough time.

The lift stops and Louis is about to step off, but when he looks up he realizes that this isn't his floor and there’s a young girl getting on. She looks a little shocked to see him but smiles up at him before pressing the number six on the panel. This building isn’t very big, it has eight floors and there’s only two flats on each floor, besides Louis who has the entire top floor to himself. Most people that live in this building already know Louis lives here as well and they have all been very respectable towards him.

When the doors open on floor six the girl steps off and Louis wishes her a good day and she waves to him as she rounds the corner. He unlocks the door to his flat and tosses his keys in the bowl on the table across from the door once it shuts behind him. The bowl has so many chips in it from Louis just haphazardly throwing his keys into it and Harry whines about it each time.

The meeting lasted a little over an hour so he still has plenty of time to clear his head before Harry gets home from work. The dishes from their lunch are still scattered across the kitchen, which is odd because Harry always cleans up afterwards because he can’t stand the mess, so he must have been in a rush to leave.

Louis grabs all the dishes and brings them to the sink and rinses them off before placing them in the dishwasher and turning it on. He takes a bottle of water out of the fridge and then walks back towards the bedroom. He slips off his shoes and trades his jeans for a pair of sweatpants. He pulls the sheets off the bed, grabs the towels that are piled on the floor from his and Harry’s shower earlier, and takes them all down the hallway and throws them into the washing machine. Harry always gripes at him for putting towels and sheets in the wash together, but Harry isn’t here and what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

He opens up the closet where they keep their linens and grabs a new set of sheets and some clean towels. He makes up the bed and then heads to the living room. He sprawls out on the couch and turns on Netflix on the telly. Nothing seems interesting enough for him to watch and Harry would be upset with him if he watched any of their shows without him. He pulls the blanket off the back of the couch and curls up underneath it and lays back against the pillows.

Louis blinks his eyes open and notices it's much darker in the room than it was earlier. He sits up and looks out the windows, it’s now night so he must have been asleep for awhile. He glances at the clock on the wall behind him. Harry should be home any minute. He rubs the heel of his palm against his eyes and he walks into the kitchen. He gets a bowl and a box of cereal out of the cupboard and grabs the milk from the fridge.

He’s sitting at the breakfast bar, spooning around the soggy cereal in his bowl, not even bothered to eat it, when he hears the front door open. A few seconds later Harry turns the corner into the kitchen and smiles brightly at Louis when their eyes meet. He sets down a couple of white cardboard boxes on the work surface before taking the box of cereal from in front of Louis and pouring himself a bowl.

“Hi love,” Louis says turning back to his own cereal. “How was work?”

“Oh my God it was insane,” Harry responds coming to stand across the breakfast bar from Louis. “We were so busy, which is unusual for us at night, especially a Tuesday night which is one of the slowest days of the week. I had to do twelve cake orders, Louis. _Twelve_!”

Harry finishes his cereal and rinses his bowl out in the sink before continuing. “I had one of our new interns start tonight because I thought we were going to be slow like we always are. So I had to train her and deal with the nonstop rush we had all night. She was a little overwhelmed of course but she did great and I let her go home early. She’s quite cute actually, think I might introduce her to Niall. She seemed like his type. Oh, and we had some extra of those almond pastries you like so much so I brought a few home for you.”

He gestures towards the white boxes and Louis just nods in response. Harry frowns and walks around the breakfast bar and stands behind Louis. He fits himself to his back, rubbing his shoulders before running his hands down Louis’ chest and kissing the back of his neck. “You’re awfully quiet tonight. How did your meeting go?”

Louis stares down at his cereal. It’s way too gross and waterlogged, well milklogged, to eat now. He shrugs Harry’s arms away and spins around on the stool. He briefly looks up at Harry before he brings his eyes down to his hands. He has been dreading this all day and he thought it would be a lot easier to talk about once Harry was here, because everything is always easier with Harry, but that’s quickly been proven wrong. He knows Harry’s going to be upset and that’s the absolute last thing he wants, but he _has_  to do this. He sighs and opens his mouth to just blurt everything out, but Harry beats him to it. “Lou, what’s wrong? Please talk to me.”

“They want me to come out.” He can’t look at Harry when he says it so he keeps his eyes locked on his hands which are now fiddling with the bottom of Harry’s shirt.

The silence that follows is deafening. Louis’ sure it only lasts a few seconds, but it feels like days.

Suddenly he's being pulled against Harry’s body and there are arms wrapping around his waist. He instantly melts into it, nuzzling his head into Harry’s chest. This is exactly what he needed.

“That's so wonderful.” Louis feels Harry’s words rumble against his cheek.

He pulls back, not letting Harry’s arms fall from his waist, just far enough to look up at him. “Yeah, I know. It really sucks--” His eyes widen when he realizes what Harry actually said. “Wait what? You're happy about this?”

“Of course I am,” Harry exclaims, stepping away from Louis to sit on the other bar stool. “I know how much you've hated hiding this part of you. Not that you've necessarily hid it, but you haven't really shown it either. You finally get to be free! I'm so happy for you. Can I help at all? Do you need me to do anything?”

Louis frowns, why does Harry seem to be so okay with this? He stands up and takes his bowl to the sink. He watches the bits of cereal swirl down the drain. “I'm scared,” he admits, barely above a whisper. This isn't something he wanted to mention to his team, but he can't hide it from Harry. He can't hide _anything_  from Harry. “My manager thinks this will be good for me. That it will boost sales for my new album and everyone will be talking about me. But H, what if he's wrong. What if--what if people hate me and my career goes to shit.”

“Lou you can't let yourself think like that. It'll just tear you up.” Harry's voice comes from directly behind him. He turns around, the edge of the sink digging into the small of his back as Harry steps up to him. Just a few inches of space in between them. “You have some of the most amazing fans in the world. And I'm not just saying that. They've been so supportive of you through the years and they love you for you. I'm not going to lie, you probably will lose some, but the majority will stick by you no matter what. I'm sure of it.”

Louis sighs and pulls Harry into his arms. He always knows the right things to say. Louis places a soft kiss to Harry’s collarbone. “Okay.”

“Do you want me to do it with you? Come out with you so you don't have to go through it alone.” Harry asks as he rubs Louis’ back.

“Absolutely not.”

Harry lets his arms fall to his side and takes a couple steps back, a scowl on his face. “And why not?”

Louis reaches for Harry’s hand, but he moves it out of reach. “Because if people find out about you, learn your name, they're going to dig through your entire personal life. They'll find your mum and Gemma. There won't be a single thing about you that everyone doesn't know. I don't want you to have to know what that feels like.”

“Louis, I don't care about any of that shit,” Harry says. “None of that matters to me as long as I get to be with you. And my family will understand.”

“Well I do care,” Louis informs him. “I don't want people to find out about you.”

Harry’s gaze snaps to him in an instant, hurt flashing through his eyes. “Oh, okay. So I'm just your dirty little secret then?”

“No, Harry, that's not what I meant I--”

“You know, this hasn't been easy for me either, Louis,” Harry interrupts. “Do you know how hard it's been for me not to talk about you with anyone? I want to scream from the rooftops about how much I'm in love with you, but I can't. And it’s not because I want to brag about dating a world famous pop star, that has nothing to do with it. I just want to be able to tell people about my charming, funny, caring, sassy, and devastatingly handsome boyfriend.” Harry sighs and brushes his hair off his forehead. “I haven't done that because of you, because I respect you and know that I can't. And this is nothing compared to what you've had to go through, but obviously you don't feel the same way because you just want to keep me a secret.”

Before Louis can get a word in, Harry is turning on his heel and heading towards the bedroom. Louis hurries to catch up and he rounds the corner into the room to see Harry hastily shoving things into an black Tom Ford bag Louis had given him for Christmas last year. “What are you doing?”

Harry doesn't stop, doesn't even turn to look at him, just keeps pulling clothes out of the closet and putting them in the bag, some of which are Louis’ shirts. “I'm packing.”

Louis’ heart fall to his toes. “Where are you going?”

“I'm not sure yet,” Harry replies as he's stepping into the bathroom. “I need to get out of here because you've got some shit to work out and I'm just going to be in the way.”

“You're never in the way,” Louis says, but he's sure Harry doesn't hear it because it comes out barely above a whisper. It feels like a ton of bricks were just dropped onto his chest because he can't _breathe_.

Harry shoves past him without saying a word, heading back towards the kitchen. Louis follows along quickly and keeps his head down. “Haz, please don't go.”

“I’m sorry Lou, I have to,” Harry says already at the front door. Louis watches as he opens it and slams it shut behind him.

He walks to the window in the living room and a few minutes later he sees Harry’s car pulling out of the parking garage.  He slides down the wall and falls asleep right there on the floor.

\--

Louis wakes up aching and confused. His back and his neck are killing him from lying on the floor. It’s still dark so he must not have been asleep for very long.

He checks his pockets for his phone and frowns when he comes up empty. He eventually finds it lying next to the sink in the kitchen. He clicks the home button, the brightness from the screen making him squint. It's almost dead, the little sliver of battery left in the top right corner glaring at him. He has no new notifications, nothing from Harry and his heart sinks. It's too late to call, Harry most likely asleep, so he sends a couple texts hoping Harry will reply in the morning when he wakes up.

Louis plugs his phone into the cord behind his nightstand and sets his alarm for when he needs to be up. He crawls into bed, trying to ignore how much bigger it feels without Harry next to him  

\--

The alarm going off doesn't wake him because he's already awake, has been for awhile. He slept on and off all night and every time he woke up he'd roll over to pull Harry in close only to be met with the cold mattress. He can't believe how utterly he fucked up.

Louis thought for sure that Harry would have his back with this whole thing, but now knowing how hard this has been on Harry as well as him makes him feel like complete shit for putting him through it. Louis never even thought about this from Harry’s side and now he's just gone and made things worse.

He needs to go into the studio today to finish up a few things for his album, but that is the absolute last thing he wants to do right now. He just wants to stay in bed and wallow in his pity, even though staying here is a constant reminder that Harry isn't here.

At the last possible second he rolls out of bed and heads for the shower. He stands underneath the hot spray of the water hoping that it'll wash away all the shit he's feeling. It doesn't. He ends up spending far too long in the shower and arrives at the studio twenty minutes late. Not that it really matters because no one can start without him, but he did promise to be there at a certain time.

The studio helps, he's able to get Harry off his mind for a while, enjoying having a laugh with the lads at the studio. He just tries to ignore the fact that most of the songs he's recording he wrote about Harry. He even stops to take pictures with a few fans that were waiting outside the studio when he left. But once he gets home to an empty flat it all comes crashing back and he's left sulking into the sandwich he makes himself for lunch.

Later that evening he has a wrap party to go to for a film that features a couple of his songs. He was planning on skipping it all together, not much in the mood for partying, but his manager made sure to let him know that he needed to at least make an appearance there.

Originally he was going to invite Harry to go with him, but due to the current circumstances, he brings Liam along instead. As soon as his car pulls up outside of Liam’s house and he slides inside he instantly knows something is up.

“Where's Harry?”

Louis frowns, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “Nice to see you too, Li. Can't a guy enjoy a night out with his best mate without an interrogation?”

“Of course he can, but not on a night like tonight when you’re attending an event that you would normally take Harry to. Not that I’m complaining, I love going to these swanky events with you, but,” Liam leans over and lowers his voice, “is everything okay?”

Louis looks up to face Liam and sees his face is filled with concern. Of course Liam knows something is wrong just from one look at Louis, they've known each other way too long. “I don’t really want to talk about it right now,” Louis replies as the car starts to move again.

The party goes well, lots of free food and booze that Louis doesn’t really partake in. And Liam seemed to have a good time which is all that really mattered to Louis anyway. They only end up staying a couple of hours because that's about all that Louis can handle.

He walks Liam to his door when the car pulls up outside his house. Liam unlocks his door but before he goes inside he pulls Louis into a tight hug. “I know you said you didn't want to talk about what's going on between you and Harry, but you know my number if you change your mind.”

Louis sighs and sinks into Liam's touch. “I know, Li. Thank you.”

Once he's back in the car he takes his phone out if his back pocket in hopes that he has a new message from Harry. Of course there's nothing, he should have known not to get his hopes up. Harry hadn't responded to any of his calls or texts.

He knows it's not worth it, that Harry won't reply, that he might not even read it, but he types out one more text and sends it anyway.

\--

The next few days go by pretty much the same way. Louis has taken to sleeping on the couch because the bed feels too big and cold without Harry next to him. He only ends up getting a few hours of sleep a night and his back aches.

He mopes around the flat until he needs to be at the studio and when he comes home he curls up on the couch and mopes some more. God, he's pathetic. What did he even do before he met Harry?

He's eating one of the almond pastries Harry brought home for him and watching some awful rom com that was already playing when he turned on the television, when the idea pops into his head.

He jumps off the couch to grab his phone from where it's charging in the kitchen to make a few phone calls. Afterwards he calls his manager and tells him about his plan, who agrees it's a wonderful idea and says to call if Louis needs help with anything.

He goes to bed feeling content, much better than he has in the last few days, and very optimistic about tomorrow. Now he just needs Harry to come home.

\--

The following day a very disgruntled Liam shows up at his front door, a very large white cardboard box sitting on the floor next to him. “Lou, what the fuck?”

“Sorry Li,” Louis says, reaching down to help Liam carry the box inside his flat. “You know I couldn't have it delivered here.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Liam waves his hand around dismissively. “What the hell is this anyway?”

Louis stands up straight after setting the box down in the hallway. He squints at the box and then looks to Liam with raised brows. He points towards the logo and the name of the company printed on the side of the box. It's a dead giveaway.

Liam rolls his eyes. “Obviously. I meant like, why do you need it?”

“It's for Harry,” Louis responds as he tries to rip the box open. They really taped the shit out of this thing.

“So are you ever going to tell me what's going on between the two of you?”

Louis frowns. He was planning on telling Liam, he was, he just doesn't like talking about it because it makes him feel like an even bigger idiot than he already is. “How about this? You stay and help me set all this up and I'll tell you everything.”

Liam agrees but only if Louis buys lunch. Which is what he was planning on doing anyway.

A couple hours and one and a half pizzas later Louis has filled Liam in on everything. He told him about the meeting with his team, the fight he and Harry had in the kitchen that same night, and now the reason why they have several small cuts all over their hands and the whole flat is almost sickeningly sweet smelling.

Of course Liam had taken Harry's side on this, because of course that's the one that makes the most sense. Louis had been overreacting, but underneath it all he's just scared, and Liam knows that. But he had reassured him, said basically the same things to him that Harry did. That in the end it'll be good for him and his fans are going to support him no matter what.

Once Liam leaves he's feeling significantly better, but he can't push away the nervous feeling in his gut when he makes his next phone call.

Since Harry still hasn't answered his calls or texts, Louis calls the only other person he's sure knows where Harry is.

“Hello?”

“Hey mate, it's Louis.”

“I know. Your name popped up on my phone when you called,” Niall says sarcastically. “Well technically it said pop star, but I still knew it was you.”

“Right, of course,” Louis says. “Listen, is Harry there? Has he been staying with you the last few days?”

There's a short pause followed by the sound of muffled voices before Niall replies. “I'm not obligated to answer that.”

“Okay so he is there. Is there any way you can get him to come home today? I really need to talk to him. Apologize,” Louis rushes out in one breath.

“I don’t know.”

“I’m sure he has told you what happened and I’m sure you hate me because of it, but please Niall, I need this. I can’t lose him,” Louis pleads.

Niall sighs. “He didn’t tell me what happened, but what I do know is that he’s been a pain in the arse the whole time he’s been here. He just mopes and complains about how much he misses you. I know you two have some shit to work out so I will help you.”

“Thank you, Niall. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I owe you big time. Anything you want just say the word and it’s yours.”

Niall chuckles and it instantly makes Louis smile. “I’ll get back to you on that.”

Louis has been pacing back and forth in the tiny bit of space there is left to walk in the kitchen ever since he got off the phone with Niall, which was over an hour ago. He's just about to take out his phone and text him when there's a knock on the door.

He frowns when he looks through the peephole and sees only Niall, no Harry in sight.

“Okay,” Niall starts as soon as Louis opens the door. “Before you freak out, he's here. He’s just waiting by the lift. He wanted me to make sure everything was okay before he came in.”

“Alright.”Louis steps back, pushing the door open more for Niall to step inside.

Niall whistles lowly as he glances around the hallway. “Wow you really went all out didn't you?”

“Yeah, I may have went a little overboard,” Louis says, suddenly nervous. “Do you think--do you think he'll like it?”

“Are you kidding?” Niall asks “Harry is the sappiest person alive. He'll love it.”

“Well, bring him in then.”

Niall nods as he heads back out to grab Harry. Louis stands at the end of the hall, opposite the door. His hands are sweating and he's getting more and more nervous with each passing second. He hops this isn't too much.

The door opens and Louis looks up to see Harry standing in the doorway and his heart immediately stops. God, he's missed him.

Harry gasps and brings a hand up to his mouth. “Lou,” he says as he takes in the thousand red roses littered down the hallway and around the corner into the kitchen. “What's all this?”

Louis takes a few tentative steps closer. “It's for you.”

“For me?” Harry questions as he looks to Louis with watery eyes. “How many are there?”

“A thousand. Or eighty-three dozen. There are four of them with thirteen because twelve doesn't go into a thousand evenly. I guess you could say they're a baker's dozen.” Louis rambles.

“A thousand?” Harry gasps again. “Louis, you didn't have to do all this.”

“I know I didn't,” Louis finally closes the large gap between them and reaches out to take both of Harry’s hands in his. “I just wanted to surprise you, do something special for you, because I love you. Just think of it as my apology to you.”

Harry squeezes his hands. “Apology for what?”

“For being an arse about this whole coming out thing. I'm so sorry that I didn't even stop to consider how hard this has been for you as well. I should have known that you wouldn’t care about what people are going to think about you because you’re _so_  lovely. You have the biggest heart, I'm honestly surprised it fits in your chest, and I’m just happy that you have even a little bit of room in there for me.”

When Harry smiles it feels like a match has been lit inside Louis’ chest and it warms him from the inside out. “You’re the _only_  thing in there Louis, it’s all you. I love you so much. And I’m sorry for leaving, that was a really immature thing for me to do.” Harry pouts as if he’s sincerely upset about that.

“That’s alright, love. You were upset, I understand.” Louis lets go of one of Harry’s hands to brush some of his curls off his face. “And if it’s okay with you, I’d like to come out tonight.”

Harry’s eyes widen. “Tonight?”

“Yeah. But only if you’ll do it with me, because I can’t do this without you, Haz.”

Harry takes both his hands and places them on either side of Louis’ face. He leans forward to connect their lips. It’s their first kiss in days and Louis instantly sinks into it, wrapping his arms around Harry’s narrow waist. It feels like a breath of fresh air after being underwater for a long time. It feels _right_. “Of course,” Harry says after their lips slip apart. “Always.”

As they’re climbing into bed later that night, Louis composes two new tweets with the pictures he took earlier. The first one is a shot of the kitchen with all the roses and he types out _Just surprised my boyfriend with 1000 roses_ followed by a rose and a heart emoji. The second one is a selfie of the two of them. Harry grinning wide, his dimple carved deep into his cheek, and Louis with his eyes squeezed shut planting a kiss on Harry’s right cheek. He follows that up with _I’m the luckiest man in the world_ and tags Harry in it.

He clicks his phone off and places it on the nightstand as soon as he’s tweeted, deciding to wait until morning to see everyone’s reaction. He falls asleep the moment Harry wraps his arms around him and pulls him against his chest.

\--

Louis wakes up the next morning with soft lips against his temple. He flutters his eyes open to see Harry peering down at him.

“Morning beautiful,” Harry greets, his voice still thick with sleep. “Wanna check Twitter? I didn’t want to do it without you.”

Louis nods as he sits up with his back against the pillows. Harry grabs his phone off the nightstand and opens up the Twitter app.

“Oh my God,” he gasps. “My follower count has grown by the thousands.”

“What are they saying?” Louis questions, too nervous to look himself.

“Good things, Lou. Lots of good things.” Harry smiles over at him.

Louis sighs, feeling infinitely better. “I’m going to have my first coming out interview on The Late Late Show next week.”

“Yeah? You nervous?” Harry asks, still scrolling through Twitter.

Louis sinks more into the pillows behind him as he thinks. Surprisingly, he’s not nervous at all. He feels like a weight has been lifted off his chest after coming out. “No, not at all. I’m really excited actually. James is the only one I wanted to do it.”

“Of course, that makes sense. You two have been friends for so long.”

“You know,” Louis says. “I was thinking you should come with me. James has heard so much about you, I’m sure he’s dying to meet you.”

Harry finally looks up from his phone. “You want me to go to LA with you?”

“Yes,” Louis nods slowly. “You don’t have to go on the show, of course, I just want you there for moral support. I can even show you around the city and take you to all my favorite spots. I have a little house there that I think you'll love. You think you can take time off work?”

“Lou, I own the place,” Harry says smugly. “I think it’ll be okay if I take a few days off. And I’m sure Gemma can hold down the fort while I’m gone.”

“So you’ll come with me?”

“I’d love to.” Harry crawls over Louis and kisses along his cheek until he reaches his mouth. Louis whines in the back of this throat and tries to deepen the kiss, but Harry is pulling away far too quickly for his liking. “I love you and I’m so proud of you. Now stay here I’m going to go make us a congratulatory breakfast.”

Louis watches as Harry slips on the pair of Louis’ sweatpants he was wearing yesterday and strolls out of the bedroom. Louis reaches over for his phone to check Twitter himself. His follower count has grown as well but not as significantly as Harry’s. He scrolls through his mentions and smiles as he reads all the lovely things people are saying. Harry had been right all along, his fans are behind him one hundred percent. Obviously there are a few hateful ones, but he chooses to just ignore those.

He clicks over to Harry’s Twitter and a tweet pinned at the top catches his attention. He smiles so wide he feels like his face might split in half. It’s his tweet that he tweeted last night, the one of their selfie. Harry has retweeted it and added, _No way. I’m definitely the lucky one._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [ireallysawanangel](http://ireallysawanangel.tumblr.com) on tumblr, so come say hi!


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